September 11, 2025 • 25 mins
When an Israeli government official was arrested in Las Vegas for trying to lure what he thought was a 15-year-old girl, he walked free on $10,000 bail and fled back to Israel within days. But this isn't just one case of justice denied—it's the latest example of a decades-long protection racket that has shielded Israel from accountability even when American citizens are killed. How does a foreign lobby become so powerful that alleged child predators walk free while their critics get censured by Congress? This episode exposes the system that makes American lives expendable in service of Israeli impunity.
Check out my substack page where I tackle some of the episode topics in depth and write about other issues our country and the world are facing today. https://substack.com/@ktdpodcast
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Raheel Khan (00:02):
Welcome back to another episode of Khannecting
the Dots.
Today I wanna start off with astory of Tom Artiom
Alexandrovich.
On August 6th, 2025, federalagents in Las Vegas arrested
eight men in a child sex sting.
One of them wasn't just anysuspect, he was a senior Israeli
(00:22):
government official.
A 38-year-old division head inIsrael's national Cyber
Directorate working directlyunder Netanyahu's office.
This wasn't a bureaucrat pushingpapers.
Alexandrovich had helped designIsrael's so-called"cyber iron
dome".
Shaped national cyber strategyand managed multimillion dollar
(00:44):
budgets.
He was in Vegas for the BlackHat Cybersecurity Conference
representing the Israeligovernment.
According to the police report,Alexandrovich was charged with
luring a child online for sex, afelony carrying up to 10 years
in prison.
He thought he was meeting a15-year-old girl.
He brought a condom.
(01:05):
Instead, he met an undercoveragent.
When he was arrested, he claimedhe thought he was meeting an
18-year-old, but then keptrepeating how important it was
that he catches flight back toIsrael.
He told officers it was veryimportant he get numbers for his
flight, which was on Friday toNew York, and then to Israel
afterwards.
(01:26):
And here's the outrageous part,despite being a clear flight
risk.
Who literally said he needed toget back to Israel.
Alexandrovich was released onjust$10,000 bail.
No GPS monitoring, no travelrestrictions.
He didn't even have to surrenderhis passport.
(01:46):
According to one defense lawyerinterviewed by Al Jazeera.
"Average Joe gets arrested.
He would appear in front of thejustice of the peace within 24
hours.
The justice of the peace in thatcounty would issue bail
conditions.
So the fact this individual wasnot only allowed to leave
without an ankle bracelet or aGPS device, not only to leave
the state, but also leave thecountry is highly unusual and
(02:09):
suspect." By August 9th, he wasback in Israel.
On August 27th, he was supposedto appear in Nevada court but he
never showed.
The judge wasn't having it.
She ordered him to appearvirtually on September 3rd,
which he did.
But here's the reality.
(02:29):
The judge can impose all theconditions she wants.
No contact with minors, nodating apps, no social media.
Who's going to enforce itthough?
Alexandrovich is sitting safelyin Israel.
And Israel almost neverextradites its own citizens.
So those virtual courtappearances, they're basically
(02:51):
theater.
If he decides to stop showing uptomorrow, there's not much a
Nevada judge can do about it.
How did the Israeli governmentrespond to all of this?
Pure damage controlled.
Netanyahu's officials even liedabout it at first, claiming
their employee was not arrested,just brought in for questioning
and returned to Israel asscheduled.
(03:13):
But here's what makes this caseeven more disgusting.
It isn't an anomaly.
This is Israeli impunity inaction.
When their officials get caught,they lie, they deflect, and they
protect.
And it's been this way fordecades.
Even when what's at stake areAmerican lives.
(03:36):
Since 2003, 13, Americancitizens have been killed by
Israeli forces with zeroconsequences.
And here's what I want you toremember.
Israel isn't some hostileregime, a US designated
terrorist organization.
Its America's closest ally inthe Middle East, the number one
(03:58):
recipient of US military aid inthe world.
When Hamas killed Americans onOctober 7th, we called it
terrorism, we sent billions inweapons to support Israel's
response.
But when Israeli forces killAmericans, silence, it's
important that remember whothese individuals were and how
(04:20):
they were killed.
Each one was an Americancitizen.
Each one had a family, dreams, alife cut short.
Let me tell you their stories.
Rachel Corrie, in 2003, she wasa 23-year-old peace activist
from Olympia, Washington.
She stood in front of an Israelibulldozer trying to stop it from
(04:42):
demolishing a Palestinian homein Rafa in the Gaza Strip.
Despite her wearing an orangefluorescent vest, speaking
through a bullhorn, and fellowactivists screaming at it stop.
The bulldozer crushed her.
Israel later called it anaccident.
Her family and fellow activistscalled it Murder.
(05:03):
Furkan Dogan.
In 2010, he was 19.
A Turkish American aboard theGaza Freedom Flotilla, a convoy
carrying humanitarian aid tobreak Israel's three year
blockade on Gaza.
Israeli commandos boarded theship and shot him at point blank
range, five times.
(05:23):
Four bullets to the chest, oneto the head.
Orwa Hammad.
In 2011, he was only 14 yearsold.
Born in New Orleans.
Israeli forces shot him in thehead during a protest.
They said he was about to throwa Molotov cocktail.
His family and neighbors say atmost he was throwing stones.
(05:43):
Mahmoud Shalaan In 2016, he was16.
A high school student withdreams of going into medicine.
From Florida.
He had returned to the West Bankonly three days before his
death.
He was shot and killed at acheckpoint, allegedly for
brandishing a knife.
Attempting to stab a soldier.
(06:04):
Witnesses denied that happenedand said that the soldiers
continued to shoot Mahmoud as helay on the ground.
Left him bleeding on the roadfor two and a half hours and
prevented a Palestinianambulance from taking him to the
hospital.
In the past three years, thekillings have increased
significantly.
Omar Assad.
In 2022, he was a 78-year-oldgrandfather from Milwaukee.
(06:28):
He was detained at a checkpointin the West Bank, forced out of
his car, and then gagged,blindfolded, and dragged on the
ground, according to witnessaccounts.
He became unresponsive and thesoldiers left him out in the
cold at a construction sitewithout any assistance or
medical care.
An autopsy later found that hehad died of a heart attack.
(06:49):
Due to the"external violence hewas exposed to".
During the investigation,soldiers said they thought he
had just fallen asleep, and sothey left him alone.
That same year.
Shireen Abu Akleh.
51.
A Palestinian Americanjournalist for Al Jazeera.
She wore a vest, clearly markedPRESS.
(07:10):
An Israeli sniper shot her inthe head while she covered a
raid.
Multiple independentinvestigations, including by the
UN concluded she wasdeliberately targeted.
Adding insult to injury, israelisoldiers then attacked the Pall
bearers during her funeral.
After October 7th, 2023.
(07:30):
The deaths escalated further.
In 2024, Tawfiq Abdul Jabbar,17, from Louisiana.
Shot in the head while drivingwith friends near Ramallah in
the West Bank.
Mohammad Khdour, 17, fromFlorida.
Eating cookies and takingselfies in a parked car when an
(07:50):
Israeli vehicle opened fire.
Killing him instantly.
Jacob Flickinger, 33.
An aid worker with the WorldCentral Kitchen.
His convoy was clearly marked.
Their route was shared with theIDF.
Israeli airstrikes, stilldestroyed them.
Killing him and six colleagues.
(08:10):
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, a peaceactivist from Washington State.
She stood quietly on thesidelines of a protest and
Beita, in the West Bank.
During a lull in the protest, anIsraeli snipers shot her in the
head.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad, fromDearborn, Michigan, he was in
southern Lebanon helpingevacuate elderly residents from
(08:33):
Israeli bombardments.
An Israeli airstrike killed him,while he was assisting
civilians.
And in 2025, Amer Rabee, 14,from New Jersey, he was picking
almonds with friends near hisvillage when Israeli forces
opened fire.
Shooting him nine times in thehead and upper body.
(08:55):
And last but not least,Sayfollah Musallet, 20 years old
from Tampa visiting family inthe West Bank.
Israeli settlers beat him todeath.
No one was ever heldaccountable.
13 Americans, 13 funerals, andnot a single act of justice.
(09:16):
But the exemption from justicedoesn't end with the killings.
It allows Israel to do what theywant to the families left
behind.
After their loved ones arekilled.
American families get trapped inthe occupied territories,
blocked from leaving to grieve,blocked from pursuing justice.
Some are even threatened to droptheir cases.
(09:39):
One father put it simply,"we areall American citizens.
But here for us, being Americanmeans nothing".
Israel's impunity doesn't stopwith the dead.
They have started toindefinitely jail American
citizens as well.
Mohammad Ibrahim, cousin ofSayfollah Musallet, a
(09:59):
16-year-old American fromFlorida, who has been detained
by Israeli forces since February2025.
He turned 16 while in Israeliprisons.
He was accused of throwingstones.
No charges were ever filed.
He's never even had a trial.
He's now being held in one ofIsrael's most notorious prisons,
(10:20):
and his health is deterioratingwhile in custody.
As of this recording, his familycontinues to plead with the
Trump administration tointervene.
His local house representativehas even gotten involved, but
the response from Trump and histeam, silence.
Just think about that.
In Israel's hands, an Americanpassport means nothing.
(10:43):
No protection from bullets.
No protection from indefinitedetention.
To understand how Americandeaths get buried and Israeli
officials walk free, you have tounderstand AIPAC, the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee.
In one sentence, AIPAC is themost powerful foreign influence
(11:04):
operation in the United States.
And from the very beginning, itsmission has been clear.
Protect Israel fromaccountability no matter the
cost.
AIPAC story starts in theshadows.
Its predecessor.
The American Zionist Committeefor Public Affairs was founded
in 1951.
(11:25):
In 1959.
It was renamed to AIPAC.
Here's a part that many peopledon't know.
In the early 1960s, the JusticeDepartment ordered their parent
organization to register as aforeign agent.
Instead of complying, theyconsolidated all of their
lobbying under the AIPAC name,deliberately dodging
(11:45):
registration requirements.
From the very beginning, AIPACwasn't just a lobby, it was a
shield protecting Israel and itsactions from American scrutiny
and blowback.
Like the 1953 Qibya massacre,when Israeli forces dynamite an
entire Palestinian village,killing up to 69 civilians,
(12:06):
including women and children whoare hiding in their homes.
And from the start, AIPAC showedit could punish American
politicians who crossed Israel.
Senator William Fulbright ofArkansas, chair of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committeedared to say AIPAC should be
registered as a foreign agent.
In 1974, after a massivepro-Israel campaign against him,
(12:28):
he lost his seat.
Adlai Stevenson, the third ofIllinois.
Another senator said openly thatAIPAC targeted him for his
Middle East positions.
He lost too.
Roger Jespen of Iowa.
Same story in 1984, taken downafter breaking ranks.
Each defeat sent the samemessage.
(12:49):
Speak out and your career isover.
But the real turning point camelater that same year.
Charles Percy.
Republican Senator fromIllinois.
He had served since 1967.
His offense?
supporting a Reaganadministration plan to sell
surveillance planes to SaudiArabia.
A routine arm sale to a US ally.
(13:12):
AIPAC went all in.
One donor spent over a milliondollars on attack ads.
Money poured in from across thecountry.
Percy lost his reelection, andthis time AIPAC didn't even
bother to hide it.
Their executive directorbragged,"all the Jews in America
from coast to coast gathered tooust Percy, and the American
(13:33):
politicians, those who holdpublic positions now and those
who aspire, got the message".
The protection racket was nolonger in the shadows.
It was out in the open.
Fast forward to today.
AIPAC is bigger and bolder thanever.
In 2024 alone, they spent over$53 million across 361
(13:56):
candidates.
Their success rate 98%.
But here's the key.
The power of the racket isn't injust how many politicians they
buy.
It's in how many they destroy.
Just like the AIPAC directorbragged about back in 1984, they
don't need to convince everyone.
(14:17):
They just need to scare enoughcritics to keep the rest in
line.
Let's look at some of theirrecent scalps.
$14 million to defeat to JamalBowman in New York.
$8 million to defeat Cory Bushin Missouri.
Both punished for the samething, supporting Palestinian
human rights.
You might think I'm exaggeratingabout AIPAC's Control, but
(14:40):
here's Republican CongressmanThomas Massie, one of the few
members willing to speak openly,explaining how the system
actually works to TuckerCarlson.
Everybody but me has an AIPACperson like, what's that mean?
An AIPAC person?
It's like your babysitter, yourAIPAC babysitter, who is always
talking to you.
For AIPAC, they're probably aconstituent in your district,
(15:02):
but they are firmly embedded inAIPAC and every member has
something like this.
That's how it works on theRepublican side.
And when they come to DC you gohave lunch with them and they've
got your cell number and youhave conversations with them.
That's absolutely crazy.
I've had four members ofCongress say, I'll talk to my
AIPAC person and it's clearlywhat we call them.
My AIPAC guy.
(15:23):
I'll talk to my AIPAC guy, seeif I can get'em to dial those
ads back.
Why have I never heard thisbefore?
Why would they want to telltheir constituents that they've
basically got a buddy systemwith somebody who's representing
a foreign country?
It doesn't benefit thecongressman for people to know
that, so they're not gonna tellyou that.
There you have it, a sitting Congressman casually
(15:44):
admitting that most Republicanmembers of Congress have an
AIPAC handler.
But it's not only Republicans.
Democrats are equally as guilty.
Just take a look at the website,track AIPAC.com.
These aren't lobbyists you meetonce in a while.
It's a babysitter with your cellnumber monitoring your every
(16:05):
vote.
And as Carlson and Massie laterpoint out, no other country does
this.
Not Russia, not China.
Not even our closest allies.
Only Israel.
Because of things like thisinterview, AIPAC is going after
Massie as well.
Running ad campaigns againsthim.
potentially backing a challengerin 2026.
(16:27):
Silence the dissenters and evendead Americans aren't enough to
demand accountability.
While AIPAC enjoys red carpettreatment on Capitol Hill,
American Congress members whodare to criticize Israeli policy
face a very different standard.
Take Ilhan Omar.
In February, 2023, she wasremoved from the House Foreign
(16:47):
Affairs Committee.
Her offense asking Secretary ofState Anthony Blinken.
A simple question,"if the USblocks war crime investigations
at the International CriminalCourt where are victim's
supposed to seek justice?" Forasking that.
For questioning accountability,Omar was stripped of her
committee seat and targeted withrepeated censure attempts.
(17:11):
And then there's Rashida Tlaibthe only Palestinian American in
Congress.
In November that same year.
She was censured by a bipartisanmajority of 234 to 188.
Her crime, defending the phrasefrom the river to the sea as an
aspirational call for freedomand coexistence, not violence.
(17:33):
On the house floor, her voicebroke as she said.
"I can't believe we have to saythis, but Palestinian people are
not disposable.
We are human beings just likeanyone else." For saying that,
for affirming that Palestiniansare human.
She was censured.
Now compare that to BenjaminNetanyahu.
(17:54):
He has addressed Congress moretimes than any other foreign
leader in history.
Standing ovations every time.
This is the same Netanyahu whohas been Prime Minister while 12
of the 13 American citizens werekilled by Israeli forces.
Only Rachel Corrie died betweenhis tenures.
And it doesn't stop withCongress.
(18:16):
The same playbook is being usedagainst Muslim civil rights
groups right here in America.
Senator, Tom Cotton, who'sreceived over a million dollars
in donations from AIPAC andother pro Israel groups.
Sent a letter to the IRSdemanding that the Council on
American Islamic Relations,CAIR, lose its nonprofit status.
(18:37):
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,who's also received over a
million dollars from pro-IsraelGroups.
Told a radio show that labelingCAIR a terrorist organization
was in the works.
And in Florida.
Representative Randy Fine, who'scollected more than$400,000 from
pro-Israel groups introduced thebill to designate CAIR as a
(18:58):
foreign terrorist organization.
Think about that.
American Congresswoman getscensured for defending human
rights.
Muslim civil rights groups getbranded as terrorists,.
But AIPAC an organization thatcoordinates with the foreign
government and spends tens ofmillions to control.
American politics, operatescarte blanche For decades,
(19:22):
AIPAC's protection racketoperated within certain limits,
kill Americans abroad, coveredup.
Shield, war criminals, noproblem.
As long as it stayed in theforeign policy realm, Washington
looked away.
But Tom Alexandrovich representssomething different.
This wasn't halfway across theworld.
(19:43):
This was here on American soil.
An Israeli official accused oftrying to abuse an American
child, and somehow he justwalked away.
Now, here's what should havehappened.
When you've got an internationalofficial, a clear flight risk,
and federal agencies running theinvestigation, that normally
(20:05):
screams federal prosecution,tougher bail conditions,
passports seized, the works.
But that's not what happened.
Instead, the US Attorney'soffice under Sigal Chatta,
announced the case was beinghandled strictly by local
prosecutors.
As a result, Alexandrovich gotroutine bail,$10,000.
(20:29):
No passport restrictions, noankle monitor.
Within two days, he was back inIsrael.
The backlash was immediate.
House Republicans called it afailure.
The State Department had to denythey intervened.
And Chatta?
She pointed fingers at the localprosecutors saying they should
have taken this passport.
(20:49):
But here's the thing aboutChatta, that makes this whole
situation so suspicious.
She's Israeli born, allegedlyhas deep ties to pro-Israel
donors like Miriam Adelson, thesame lady who donated$100
million to the Trump campaign,which some claim came in
exchange for a promise that heallowed Israel to take the West
(21:12):
Bank.
A claim adelson spokespersondenies, but Adelson opposes the
formation of a Palestinianstate.
And favors the annexation of theWest Bank.
And according to multiplereports from Jazeera and other
outlets, Chatta's now deletedsocial media account included
post calling Palestinians,"animals" calling for Israel to
(21:34):
"wipe Gaza off the map", andreportedly suggested that even
the"children in Gaza areterrorists".
Look, maybe there's no smokinggun here.
Maybe it was just bureaucraticgaps between federal and state
authority.
But when an alleged childpredator walks free because he
(21:54):
happens to carry the rightpassport, or when the DA in
charge of disseminating his casehas ties to the, same foreign
government as the allegedperpetrator, that's a system
that needs fixing.
Maybe this time can bedifferent.
Unlike most cases involvingIsrael impunity, this one hasn't
disappeared quietly.
(22:15):
Social media keeps bringing itup.
Reporters keep following thecourt proceedings.
Even some Republican politiciansare asking the difficult
questions.
For 70 years, the protectionracket, silence, criticism of
Israeli policy.
But now it's struggling thesilence criticism of an Israeli
official accused of preying onAmerican kids.
(22:38):
So where does this leave us?
We've seen how the protectionracket works.
AIPAC silences critics,prosecutors shield criminals,
and 13 American families burytheir dead in silence.
But there's one American who Ihaven't talked about yet, whose
story cuts through all thepolitical noise.
Someone who saw the systemclearly and couldn't live with
(23:01):
what it meant.
Aaron Bushnell was 25 serving inthe US Air Force.
Friends described him asthoughtful and sincere.
Someone who took his oathseriously.
On February 25th, 2024,disturbed by what he saw as
government complicity inatrocities.
Bushnell walked to the Israeliembassy in Washington, DC and
(23:23):
set himself on fire in protest.
An act covered around the world.
Before he set himself on fire,Bushnell said,"I will no longer
be complicit in genocide.
I'm about to engage in anextreme act of protest, but
compared to what people havebeen experiencing in Palestine
at the hands of theircolonizers, it's not extreme at
(23:44):
all".
But Bushnell left us withsomething even more challenging.
In his final statement beforethe act.
He said;"many of us like to askourselves, what would I do if I
was alive during slavery?
Or the Jim Crow South?
Or apartheid?
What would I do if my countrywas committing genocide?
(24:05):
The answer is you're doing itright now".
Rachel Corrie, Shereen AbuAkleh.
Mohamed Khdour.
13 Americans dead at Israelihands.
Tom Alexandrovich walking free.
The American government doingnothing about any of it.
Bushnell saw what AIPAC hasspent decades hiding.
(24:27):
That our silence makes uscomplicit, that our weapons
enable war crimes, that ourprotection racket has a body
count.
The question he posed isn'trhetorical.
It's the moral test of our time,and right now we're failing it.
Thanks for listening toKhannecting the Dots.
(24:47):
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it.
These stories matter.
These names matter.
Until next time, stay curious,stay critical, and stay
connected.
Welcome back to another episode of Khannecting
the Dots.
Today I wanna start off with astory of Tom Artiom
Alexandrovich.
On August 6th, 2025, federalagents in Las Vegas arrested
eight men in a child sex sting.
One of them wasn't just anysuspect, he was a senior Israeli
(00:22):
government official.
A 38-year-old division head inIsrael's national Cyber
Directorate working directlyunder Netanyahu's office.
This wasn't a bureaucrat pushingpapers.
Alexandrovich had helped designIsrael's so-called"cyber iron
dome".
Shaped national cyber strategyand managed multimillion dollar
(00:44):
budgets.
He was in Vegas for the BlackHat Cybersecurity Conference
representing the Israeligovernment.
According to the police report,Alexandrovich was charged with
luring a child online for sex, afelony carrying up to 10 years
in prison.
He thought he was meeting a15-year-old girl.
He brought a condom.
(01:05):
Instead, he met an undercoveragent.
When he was arrested, he claimedhe thought he was meeting an
18-year-old, but then keptrepeating how important it was
that he catches flight back toIsrael.
He told officers it was veryimportant he get numbers for his
flight, which was on Friday toNew York, and then to Israel
afterwards.
(01:26):
And here's the outrageous part,despite being a clear flight
risk.
Who literally said he needed toget back to Israel.
Alexandrovich was released onjust$10,000 bail.
No GPS monitoring, no travelrestrictions.
He didn't even have to surrenderhis passport.
(01:46):
According to one defense lawyerinterviewed by Al Jazeera.
"Average Joe gets arrested.
He would appear in front of thejustice of the peace within 24
hours.
The justice of the peace in thatcounty would issue bail
conditions.
So the fact this individual wasnot only allowed to leave
without an ankle bracelet or aGPS device, not only to leave
the state, but also leave thecountry is highly unusual and
(02:09):
suspect." By August 9th, he wasback in Israel.
On August 27th, he was supposedto appear in Nevada court but he
never showed.
The judge wasn't having it.
She ordered him to appearvirtually on September 3rd,
which he did.
But here's the reality.
(02:29):
The judge can impose all theconditions she wants.
No contact with minors, nodating apps, no social media.
Who's going to enforce itthough?
Alexandrovich is sitting safelyin Israel.
And Israel almost neverextradites its own citizens.
So those virtual courtappearances, they're basically
(02:51):
theater.
If he decides to stop showing uptomorrow, there's not much a
Nevada judge can do about it.
How did the Israeli governmentrespond to all of this?
Pure damage controlled.
Netanyahu's officials even liedabout it at first, claiming
their employee was not arrested,just brought in for questioning
and returned to Israel asscheduled.
(03:13):
But here's what makes this caseeven more disgusting.
It isn't an anomaly.
This is Israeli impunity inaction.
When their officials get caught,they lie, they deflect, and they
protect.
And it's been this way fordecades.
Even when what's at stake areAmerican lives.
(03:36):
Since 2003, 13, Americancitizens have been killed by
Israeli forces with zeroconsequences.
And here's what I want you toremember.
Israel isn't some hostileregime, a US designated
terrorist organization.
Its America's closest ally inthe Middle East, the number one
(03:58):
recipient of US military aid inthe world.
When Hamas killed Americans onOctober 7th, we called it
terrorism, we sent billions inweapons to support Israel's
response.
But when Israeli forces killAmericans, silence, it's
important that remember whothese individuals were and how
(04:20):
they were killed.
Each one was an Americancitizen.
Each one had a family, dreams, alife cut short.
Let me tell you their stories.
Rachel Corrie, in 2003, she wasa 23-year-old peace activist
from Olympia, Washington.
She stood in front of an Israelibulldozer trying to stop it from
(04:42):
demolishing a Palestinian homein Rafa in the Gaza Strip.
Despite her wearing an orangefluorescent vest, speaking
through a bullhorn, and fellowactivists screaming at it stop.
The bulldozer crushed her.
Israel later called it anaccident.
Her family and fellow activistscalled it Murder.
(05:03):
Furkan Dogan.
In 2010, he was 19.
A Turkish American aboard theGaza Freedom Flotilla, a convoy
carrying humanitarian aid tobreak Israel's three year
blockade on Gaza.
Israeli commandos boarded theship and shot him at point blank
range, five times.
(05:23):
Four bullets to the chest, oneto the head.
Orwa Hammad.
In 2011, he was only 14 yearsold.
Born in New Orleans.
Israeli forces shot him in thehead during a protest.
They said he was about to throwa Molotov cocktail.
His family and neighbors say atmost he was throwing stones.
(05:43):
Mahmoud Shalaan In 2016, he was16.
A high school student withdreams of going into medicine.
From Florida.
He had returned to the West Bankonly three days before his
death.
He was shot and killed at acheckpoint, allegedly for
brandishing a knife.
Attempting to stab a soldier.
(06:04):
Witnesses denied that happenedand said that the soldiers
continued to shoot Mahmoud as helay on the ground.
Left him bleeding on the roadfor two and a half hours and
prevented a Palestinianambulance from taking him to the
hospital.
In the past three years, thekillings have increased
significantly.
Omar Assad.
In 2022, he was a 78-year-oldgrandfather from Milwaukee.
(06:28):
He was detained at a checkpointin the West Bank, forced out of
his car, and then gagged,blindfolded, and dragged on the
ground, according to witnessaccounts.
He became unresponsive and thesoldiers left him out in the
cold at a construction sitewithout any assistance or
medical care.
An autopsy later found that hehad died of a heart attack.
(06:49):
Due to the"external violence hewas exposed to".
During the investigation,soldiers said they thought he
had just fallen asleep, and sothey left him alone.
That same year.
Shireen Abu Akleh.
51.
A Palestinian Americanjournalist for Al Jazeera.
She wore a vest, clearly markedPRESS.
(07:10):
An Israeli sniper shot her inthe head while she covered a
raid.
Multiple independentinvestigations, including by the
UN concluded she wasdeliberately targeted.
Adding insult to injury, israelisoldiers then attacked the Pall
bearers during her funeral.
After October 7th, 2023.
(07:30):
The deaths escalated further.
In 2024, Tawfiq Abdul Jabbar,17, from Louisiana.
Shot in the head while drivingwith friends near Ramallah in
the West Bank.
Mohammad Khdour, 17, fromFlorida.
Eating cookies and takingselfies in a parked car when an
(07:50):
Israeli vehicle opened fire.
Killing him instantly.
Jacob Flickinger, 33.
An aid worker with the WorldCentral Kitchen.
His convoy was clearly marked.
Their route was shared with theIDF.
Israeli airstrikes, stilldestroyed them.
Killing him and six colleagues.
(08:10):
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, a peaceactivist from Washington State.
She stood quietly on thesidelines of a protest and
Beita, in the West Bank.
During a lull in the protest, anIsraeli snipers shot her in the
head.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad, fromDearborn, Michigan, he was in
southern Lebanon helpingevacuate elderly residents from
(08:33):
Israeli bombardments.
An Israeli airstrike killed him,while he was assisting
civilians.
And in 2025, Amer Rabee, 14,from New Jersey, he was picking
almonds with friends near hisvillage when Israeli forces
opened fire.
Shooting him nine times in thehead and upper body.
(08:55):
And last but not least,Sayfollah Musallet, 20 years old
from Tampa visiting family inthe West Bank.
Israeli settlers beat him todeath.
No one was ever heldaccountable.
13 Americans, 13 funerals, andnot a single act of justice.
(09:16):
But the exemption from justicedoesn't end with the killings.
It allows Israel to do what theywant to the families left
behind.
After their loved ones arekilled.
American families get trapped inthe occupied territories,
blocked from leaving to grieve,blocked from pursuing justice.
Some are even threatened to droptheir cases.
(09:39):
One father put it simply,"we areall American citizens.
But here for us, being Americanmeans nothing".
Israel's impunity doesn't stopwith the dead.
They have started toindefinitely jail American
citizens as well.
Mohammad Ibrahim, cousin ofSayfollah Musallet, a
(09:59):
16-year-old American fromFlorida, who has been detained
by Israeli forces since February2025.
He turned 16 while in Israeliprisons.
He was accused of throwingstones.
No charges were ever filed.
He's never even had a trial.
He's now being held in one ofIsrael's most notorious prisons,
(10:20):
and his health is deterioratingwhile in custody.
As of this recording, his familycontinues to plead with the
Trump administration tointervene.
His local house representativehas even gotten involved, but
the response from Trump and histeam, silence.
Just think about that.
In Israel's hands, an Americanpassport means nothing.
(10:43):
No protection from bullets.
No protection from indefinitedetention.
To understand how Americandeaths get buried and Israeli
officials walk free, you have tounderstand AIPAC, the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee.
In one sentence, AIPAC is themost powerful foreign influence
(11:04):
operation in the United States.
And from the very beginning, itsmission has been clear.
Protect Israel fromaccountability no matter the
cost.
AIPAC story starts in theshadows.
Its predecessor.
The American Zionist Committeefor Public Affairs was founded
in 1951.
(11:25):
In 1959.
It was renamed to AIPAC.
Here's a part that many peopledon't know.
In the early 1960s, the JusticeDepartment ordered their parent
organization to register as aforeign agent.
Instead of complying, theyconsolidated all of their
lobbying under the AIPAC name,deliberately dodging
(11:45):
registration requirements.
From the very beginning, AIPACwasn't just a lobby, it was a
shield protecting Israel and itsactions from American scrutiny
and blowback.
Like the 1953 Qibya massacre,when Israeli forces dynamite an
entire Palestinian village,killing up to 69 civilians,
(12:06):
including women and children whoare hiding in their homes.
And from the start, AIPAC showedit could punish American
politicians who crossed Israel.
Senator William Fulbright ofArkansas, chair of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committeedared to say AIPAC should be
registered as a foreign agent.
In 1974, after a massivepro-Israel campaign against him,
(12:28):
he lost his seat.
Adlai Stevenson, the third ofIllinois.
Another senator said openly thatAIPAC targeted him for his
Middle East positions.
He lost too.
Roger Jespen of Iowa.
Same story in 1984, taken downafter breaking ranks.
Each defeat sent the samemessage.
(12:49):
Speak out and your career isover.
But the real turning point camelater that same year.
Charles Percy.
Republican Senator fromIllinois.
He had served since 1967.
His offense?
supporting a Reaganadministration plan to sell
surveillance planes to SaudiArabia.
A routine arm sale to a US ally.
(13:12):
AIPAC went all in.
One donor spent over a milliondollars on attack ads.
Money poured in from across thecountry.
Percy lost his reelection, andthis time AIPAC didn't even
bother to hide it.
Their executive directorbragged,"all the Jews in America
from coast to coast gathered tooust Percy, and the American
(13:33):
politicians, those who holdpublic positions now and those
who aspire, got the message".
The protection racket was nolonger in the shadows.
It was out in the open.
Fast forward to today.
AIPAC is bigger and bolder thanever.
In 2024 alone, they spent over$53 million across 361
(13:56):
candidates.
Their success rate 98%.
But here's the key.
The power of the racket isn't injust how many politicians they
buy.
It's in how many they destroy.
Just like the AIPAC directorbragged about back in 1984, they
don't need to convince everyone.
(14:17):
They just need to scare enoughcritics to keep the rest in
line.
Let's look at some of theirrecent scalps.
$14 million to defeat to JamalBowman in New York.
$8 million to defeat Cory Bushin Missouri.
Both punished for the samething, supporting Palestinian
human rights.
You might think I'm exaggeratingabout AIPAC's Control, but
(14:40):
here's Republican CongressmanThomas Massie, one of the few
members willing to speak openly,explaining how the system
actually works to TuckerCarlson.
Everybody but me has an AIPACperson like, what's that mean?
An AIPAC person?
It's like your babysitter, yourAIPAC babysitter, who is always
talking to you.
For AIPAC, they're probably aconstituent in your district,
(15:02):
but they are firmly embedded inAIPAC and every member has
something like this.
That's how it works on theRepublican side.
And when they come to DC you gohave lunch with them and they've
got your cell number and youhave conversations with them.
That's absolutely crazy.
I've had four members ofCongress say, I'll talk to my
AIPAC person and it's clearlywhat we call them.
My AIPAC guy.
(15:23):
I'll talk to my AIPAC guy, seeif I can get'em to dial those
ads back.
Why have I never heard thisbefore?
Why would they want to telltheir constituents that they've
basically got a buddy systemwith somebody who's representing
a foreign country?
It doesn't benefit thecongressman for people to know
that, so they're not gonna tellyou that.
There you have it, a sitting Congressman casually
(15:44):
admitting that most Republicanmembers of Congress have an
AIPAC handler.
But it's not only Republicans.
Democrats are equally as guilty.
Just take a look at the website,track AIPAC.com.
These aren't lobbyists you meetonce in a while.
It's a babysitter with your cellnumber monitoring your every
(16:05):
vote.
And as Carlson and Massie laterpoint out, no other country does
this.
Not Russia, not China.
Not even our closest allies.
Only Israel.
Because of things like thisinterview, AIPAC is going after
Massie as well.
Running ad campaigns againsthim.
potentially backing a challengerin 2026.
(16:27):
Silence the dissenters and evendead Americans aren't enough to
demand accountability.
While AIPAC enjoys red carpettreatment on Capitol Hill,
American Congress members whodare to criticize Israeli policy
face a very different standard.
Take Ilhan Omar.
In February, 2023, she wasremoved from the House Foreign
(16:47):
Affairs Committee.
Her offense asking Secretary ofState Anthony Blinken.
A simple question,"if the USblocks war crime investigations
at the International CriminalCourt where are victim's
supposed to seek justice?" Forasking that.
For questioning accountability,Omar was stripped of her
committee seat and targeted withrepeated censure attempts.
(17:11):
And then there's Rashida Tlaibthe only Palestinian American in
Congress.
In November that same year.
She was censured by a bipartisanmajority of 234 to 188.
Her crime, defending the phrasefrom the river to the sea as an
aspirational call for freedomand coexistence, not violence.
(17:33):
On the house floor, her voicebroke as she said.
"I can't believe we have to saythis, but Palestinian people are
not disposable.
We are human beings just likeanyone else." For saying that,
for affirming that Palestiniansare human.
She was censured.
Now compare that to BenjaminNetanyahu.
(17:54):
He has addressed Congress moretimes than any other foreign
leader in history.
Standing ovations every time.
This is the same Netanyahu whohas been Prime Minister while 12
of the 13 American citizens werekilled by Israeli forces.
Only Rachel Corrie died betweenhis tenures.
And it doesn't stop withCongress.
(18:16):
The same playbook is being usedagainst Muslim civil rights
groups right here in America.
Senator, Tom Cotton, who'sreceived over a million dollars
in donations from AIPAC andother pro Israel groups.
Sent a letter to the IRSdemanding that the Council on
American Islamic Relations,CAIR, lose its nonprofit status.
(18:37):
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,who's also received over a
million dollars from pro-IsraelGroups.
Told a radio show that labelingCAIR a terrorist organization
was in the works.
And in Florida.
Representative Randy Fine, who'scollected more than$400,000 from
pro-Israel groups introduced thebill to designate CAIR as a
(18:58):
foreign terrorist organization.
Think about that.
American Congresswoman getscensured for defending human
rights.
Muslim civil rights groups getbranded as terrorists,.
But AIPAC an organization thatcoordinates with the foreign
government and spends tens ofmillions to control.
American politics, operatescarte blanche For decades,
(19:22):
AIPAC's protection racketoperated within certain limits,
kill Americans abroad, coveredup.
Shield, war criminals, noproblem.
As long as it stayed in theforeign policy realm, Washington
looked away.
But Tom Alexandrovich representssomething different.
This wasn't halfway across theworld.
(19:43):
This was here on American soil.
An Israeli official accused oftrying to abuse an American
child, and somehow he justwalked away.
Now, here's what should havehappened.
When you've got an internationalofficial, a clear flight risk,
and federal agencies running theinvestigation, that normally
(20:05):
screams federal prosecution,tougher bail conditions,
passports seized, the works.
But that's not what happened.
Instead, the US Attorney'soffice under Sigal Chatta,
announced the case was beinghandled strictly by local
prosecutors.
As a result, Alexandrovich gotroutine bail,$10,000.
(20:29):
No passport restrictions, noankle monitor.
Within two days, he was back inIsrael.
The backlash was immediate.
House Republicans called it afailure.
The State Department had to denythey intervened.
And Chatta?
She pointed fingers at the localprosecutors saying they should
have taken this passport.
(20:49):
But here's the thing aboutChatta, that makes this whole
situation so suspicious.
She's Israeli born, allegedlyhas deep ties to pro-Israel
donors like Miriam Adelson, thesame lady who donated$100
million to the Trump campaign,which some claim came in
exchange for a promise that heallowed Israel to take the West
(21:12):
Bank.
A claim adelson spokespersondenies, but Adelson opposes the
formation of a Palestinianstate.
And favors the annexation of theWest Bank.
And according to multiplereports from Jazeera and other
outlets, Chatta's now deletedsocial media account included
post calling Palestinians,"animals" calling for Israel to
(21:34):
"wipe Gaza off the map", andreportedly suggested that even
the"children in Gaza areterrorists".
Look, maybe there's no smokinggun here.
Maybe it was just bureaucraticgaps between federal and state
authority.
But when an alleged childpredator walks free because he
(21:54):
happens to carry the rightpassport, or when the DA in
charge of disseminating his casehas ties to the, same foreign
government as the allegedperpetrator, that's a system
that needs fixing.
Maybe this time can bedifferent.
Unlike most cases involvingIsrael impunity, this one hasn't
disappeared quietly.
(22:15):
Social media keeps bringing itup.
Reporters keep following thecourt proceedings.
Even some Republican politiciansare asking the difficult
questions.
For 70 years, the protectionracket, silence, criticism of
Israeli policy.
But now it's struggling thesilence criticism of an Israeli
official accused of preying onAmerican kids.
(22:38):
So where does this leave us?
We've seen how the protectionracket works.
AIPAC silences critics,prosecutors shield criminals,
and 13 American families burytheir dead in silence.
But there's one American who Ihaven't talked about yet, whose
story cuts through all thepolitical noise.
Someone who saw the systemclearly and couldn't live with
(23:01):
what it meant.
Aaron Bushnell was 25 serving inthe US Air Force.
Friends described him asthoughtful and sincere.
Someone who took his oathseriously.
On February 25th, 2024,disturbed by what he saw as
government complicity inatrocities.
Bushnell walked to the Israeliembassy in Washington, DC and
(23:23):
set himself on fire in protest.
An act covered around the world.
Before he set himself on fire,Bushnell said,"I will no longer
be complicit in genocide.
I'm about to engage in anextreme act of protest, but
compared to what people havebeen experiencing in Palestine
at the hands of theircolonizers, it's not extreme at
(23:44):
all".
But Bushnell left us withsomething even more challenging.
In his final statement beforethe act.
He said;"many of us like to askourselves, what would I do if I
was alive during slavery?
Or the Jim Crow South?
Or apartheid?
What would I do if my countrywas committing genocide?
(24:05):
The answer is you're doing itright now".
Rachel Corrie, Shereen AbuAkleh.
Mohamed Khdour.
13 Americans dead at Israelihands.
Tom Alexandrovich walking free.
The American government doingnothing about any of it.
Bushnell saw what AIPAC hasspent decades hiding.
(24:27):
That our silence makes uscomplicit, that our weapons
enable war crimes, that ourprotection racket has a body
count.
The question he posed isn'trhetorical.
It's the moral test of our time,and right now we're failing it.
Thanks for listening toKhannecting the Dots.
(24:47):
If this episode resonated withyou, please share it.
These stories matter.
These names matter.
Until next time, stay curious,stay critical, and stay
connected.
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